News from the Makerspace Desk of Angela Hatch
It's July and in a few days our country will celebrate 250 years! That’s quite a feat...250 years. That's pretty old, but then I wondered what's the oldest country? So, I asked Chat. And like a politician, it gave me a couple answers (depends on how you define it). Chat's response surprised me because it was a country I hadn’t really heard of. The "oldest continuously independent sovereign country is San Marino, founded AD 301. It’s a tiny country surrounded by Italy; it's about 24 square miles, has its own government, passports, postage stamps, and military." Who knew? Okay, so they have a few years on us, but we can still celebrate strong. Happy 250th Birthday America!
Writing NewsAs we jump into Q3, I took a moment to review my 2026 goals. There’s been some great progress with both writing and branding. Makerspace Mysteries – Trouble Over Turtle Cove is complete and out on submission, When the Earth Trembled is edited and re-released (completed in January in honor of the survivors in the Jan 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti). And Drama Mama and the Fortune Cookie Club series is in full swing. (Thanks for the positive feedback on the cover reveal to book 1!) Wait til next month for the book 2 cover reveal!A big focus this year was starting a newsletter. I’m excited that the number of subscribers to this newsletter continues to grow. Thank you for subscribing, for your support, and for following along this journey!Not on my 2026 goals list were the Escape Room games that came out of nowhere. That’s been loads of fun. I am honing them to be used for classroom visits with the possibility of producing them for market. If any of you teachers out there are scheduling author visitors, let me know! We'll see if your kids can use their STEM skills to escape the Room of Relics! Contact me for further details.
Fun and Unique Days to Celebrate in July
July 1 - International Joke Day – Not kidding! Haha. I need some good jokes for classroom visits. Would love it if you could send me your best joke.
July 4 - Independence Day – 250 years, baby! Celebrate and enjoy the day! July 4th also happens to be Sidewalk Egg Frying Day, another little quirky thing I've wanted to do.
July 7 - National Strawberry Sundae Day – Or you could wait a few days and celebrate Make your own Sundae Day on July 11th. Or, I say do both!
July 15 - National Hot Dog Day – Have a car-b-q and celebrate this day in style! What’s a car-b-q? It starts with a road trip and hungry kids. Wrap some hot dogs in aluminum foil, place them on the car engine and get back in the car. Drive about an hour and voila! Dinner is ready. We’ve done this several times, with and without kids. Here we are at Monument Valley eating our car-b-q chili dogs! (We set the can of chili on the dashboard and let Mother Nature do the rest! When the dogs were ready, so was the chili.) Top it off with Fritos and you have a feast!
July 17 - World Emoji Day – I thought it would be interesting to ask ChatGPT to write a story using only in emojis to see if it could be done. Here is the story. See if you can read it.
Not quite what I got out of it, but it was an interesting exercise.
July 20 - Space Exploration Day – This day commemorates the anniversary of the first manned mission to the Moon (July 20, 1969). Since then, we’ve gone to space many times. Here are some interesting tidbits astronauts have learned from space research:
Astronauts grow taller in space—but return to their normal height after coming home.
You can't cry normally because tears don't fall; they collect around your eyes until you wipe them away.
Water forms floating balls instead of pouring.
A lit candle becomes a blue sphere instead of a yellow teardrop.
Seeds grown in space can still produce healthy plants when returned to Earth.
Angie's Amazing Adventures
In my personal/non-writing life, my goal this year is to have one cool adventure every month. This month we took an epic tour of the Southwest (Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and California). I spent a lot of time planning it to find unique and interesting things (so not a lot of writing took place in June). My husband said I did 3 weeks of planning for a 2-week trip, but it was epic, scenic, and amazing, knocking off two bucket list items, Antelope Canyon and photographing the Milky Way. Here are a few pics.Antelope Canyon is one mile of amazement. Every step was an incredible view.
We took not one, but two, astrophotography classes. These images were taken at Arches National Park, an International Dark Sky park. Can you believe these photos were taken with a cell phone?
That's a wrap for now. Thanks for being part of this storytelling adventure!
If you're enjoying this newsletter, let me know. I'd love to hear from you! If you think someone else might like this newsletter, forward this to them and let them know they can sign up by hitting the link below to my website.
With curiosity and hope,
Angela Hatch
Adventure with purpose. Stories that spark courage, laughter, and heart.
© 2026 Angela Hatch
Sent with Author Websites by BookBub
1 Broadway 14th floor · Cambridge, MA 02142 · United States
Unsubscribe | |
